Picking up

[itchy trigger]

On the shoots I pick up on there is quite rightly no picking up around the guns whilst the drive is in progress, quietly, well behind is not a problem,

if a gun is paying several hundred pounds to shoot they don’t want any dog, never mind some deaf to the whistle half trained mutt prancing around, distracting their attention from what they have paid for, There is no excuse for in front of, or around  the guns,

Some of these pickers up have the attitude to think they are more important than the people who have paid for the day, there is no shortage of people and properly trained dogs that can do it correctly

right or wrong, op should have been sent home never to return for having an altercation with a gun, that is down to the shoot captain

[scotslad]

I may be wrong but was the OP not the gun and had an altercation with the picker up for not sending his dog??

 

I also know in my area there is a massive shortage of pickers up, know i was begged back to 1 shoot after 2 folk had been bulletted.

And many of them are getting older very few younger pckers about, but then again shoots need to be paying a fair wage too.

No point in subsidiesing someone elses shooting by working for peanuts. can see shoots rrally struggling shortly

[snow white]

Scotslad .I was the gun i found out yesterday that the same picker up did not put is dogs on some other birds that day that where in thick undergroth some of the beaters had to put there dogs in.

Itchy trigger.I can take lead of my dog and she will not run in untill i tell her that day when we got on peg she was on lead as we had just walked to peg and we are live on peg when i saw it was a good runner i told my wife to slip dog she got said bird then just sat by my side with out lead marking downed birds but she will not move till i say so

[scotslad]

Fair play to u then snow white, seems like u have trained a good 1.😀

 

It does sound like ur picker wasn't up to much or just there to train his dogs, won't be the 1st or last, but i'd still hold judgement since i wasn''t there, possible he leaves that cover to last? or keeper wants beaters to pick more to free him up for far back woundies.

I know 1 shoot i go to as well as others that is becoming more of the norm on many drives beaters hover up around guns feet and coverthere and we work out way into them.

 

Just be aware thou  any dog can become unsteady with age/experience even as the season goes on, i know mine do, u might even notice a difference if ur mrsisn't there and the dog thinks ur too busy shooting to notice it sneaking off. I can happen to even the best trained dogs.

Just be careful sending dogs off ur peg during the drive if it becomes a habit/norm the dog might expect it, some better trainers say u should walk ur dog at heel a few m's of ur peg before sending it after the drive so it doesn't associate it with being sent of the peg.

Also if u have a young dog sometimes a good  idea to pick a few birds urself by hand nesarby with dog sat on peg, i sill do that with my picking dogs and leave the 4/5 sat there while i pick up dead 1's usually in short grass fields.